AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION 



NATIONAL SOCIETY OF THE 

SONS OF THE 

AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

PROPOSED MAY i, 1893, 

AND THE 

DRAFT OF A REVISED CONSTITUTION, 



PROPOSED BY THE COMMITTEE ON 
REVISION, APPOINTED IN PURSUANCE 
OF THE RESOLUTION OF THE ANNUAL 
CONGRESS OF THE NATIONAL SO- 
CIETY, APRIL 30TH, 1892. . . . . 



May 8, 1893. 



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To THE Congress of the National Society of 
THE Sons of the American Revolution : 

The Committee on Revision of the Constitu- 
tion, appointed in pursuance of the resolution of 
the Annual Congress of this. Society, held April 30, 
1892, have the honor to'fep'6'rt : That upon March 
21 they agreed upon a inultfljer of amendments 
and prepared the draft of a revised Constitution, 
which was duly promulgated by the Secretary 
General to the members of the Congress ; that, 
upon May 1, 1893, ^t the Annual Congress, held 
pro forma in the city of New York, to comply 
with the law of the Society, a number of addi- 
tional amendments were submitted by various 
State Societies and members of the Congress, 
which were, by vote, referred to the Committee 
on Revision of the Constitution, to be reported 
back to the Congress with the Committee's own 
recommendations ; and that this Committee, in 
order to simplify the work of the Congress, has 
considered and carefully digested the various 
amendments, and has accepted several of them 

3 



as its own, either in substance or verbatim, and 
have incorporated them in a revised draft of the 
Constitution, which is now hereby submitted in 
lieu of the Committee's previous report. The 
Committee proposes the amendments indicated in 
its following report and will move their adoption 
at the adjourned Congress of the National Society, 
to be held at Chicago, June \6, iSq). All of the 
amendments offered May i, 1893, are appended 
hereto, verbatim, for such action as the Congress 
may deem proper to take in the premises. 

Very respectfully, 

HORACE PORTER, 

President General. 

HENRY HALL, 

A. W. GREELY, U. S. A., 

GEO. BROWN GOODE, Ph. D., \ Committee. 

JOHN WHITEHEAD, 

JAMES C. CRESAP, U. S. N., 




CONSTITUTION OF THE NATIONAL SOCIETY 

OF THE 

SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 



[New readings and additions are indicated by italics. The words and 
sentences, which it is proposed to drop out entirely, are enclosed in brackets.] 



ARTICLE I. 

NAME. 

The Name of this Society shall be "The Sons of the 
American Revolution." 

ARTICLE II. 

OBJECTS. 

[The objects of this Society are, to perpetuate the 
memory and the spirit of the men who achieved American 
Independence, by the encouragement of historical research 
in relation to the Revolution and the publication of its 
results, the preservation of documents and relics, and of the 
records of the individual services of Revolutionary soldiers 
and patriots,, and the promotion of celebrations of all 
patriotic anniversaries; to carry out the injunction of 
Washington in his farewell address to the American people, 
"to promote, as an object of primary importance, institu- 
tions for the general diffusion of knowledge," thus develop- 
ing an enlightened public opinion, and affording to young 
and old such advantages as shall develop in them the largest 

5 



capacity for performing the duties of American citizens; to 
cherish, maintain, and extend the institutions of American 
freedom ; to foster true patriotism and love of country ; 
and to aid in securing for mankind all the blessings of 
liberty.] 

TJic objects of this Society sliall be to perpetuate the mem- 
ory of the iiieii^ zvho, by their services or sacrifices during the 
War of the Avierican Revolution, achieved the Independence 
of the American people ; to unite and promote fellozuship 
among their descendants; to inspire tliem and the community 
at large zvitli a more profoiind reverence for tJie principles of 
the government founded by our forefathers ; to encourage 
historical research in relation to the Ameriea)i Rivolution ; 
to acquire and preserve the records of the individual services 
of the patriots of the War, as zvell as doeumoits. relies and 
landmarks; to mark the scenes of the Revolution by appropriate 
memorials ; to celebrate the anniversaries of the prominent 
events of the War; to foster true patriotism ; to maintain and 
extend the institutions of A merican freedom ; and to carry 
out the purposes expressed in the Preamble to the Constitution 
of our Country and the injunctions of Washingto?t in his 
farewell address to the A merican people. 

ARTICLE III. 

MEMBERSHIP. 

[Section \. — Any man is eligible for membership, who 
is of the age of twenty-one years, and w'ho is descended 
from an ancestor who, with unfailing loyalt)^, rendered ma- 
terial aid to the cause of American Independence, as a 
soldier or as a seaman, or a civil officer in one of the several 
Colonies or States, or of the United Colonies or States, or 
as a recognized patriot ; provided that he shall be found 
worthy.] 

Section i. — Any man shall be eligible to membership in 
this Society, who, being of the age of 21 years or over, and a 
citizeii of good repute in the community, is the lineal descendant 
of an ajiccstor, who zvas at all times unfailing in his loyalty 



and rendered actual service in the cause of American Independ- 
ence^ either as an officer, soldier, seaman, marine, militiaman 
or minute man, in the armed forces of the Continental Congress 
or of any one of the several Colonies or States ; or as a Signer 
of the Declaration of Independence ; or as a member of a 
Committee of Safety or Correspondence ; or as a member of 
any Continental, Provincial, or Colonial Congress or Legisla- 
ture ; or as a civil officer, either of one of the Colonies or 
States or of the national government ; or as a recognized 
patriot, who performed actual service by overt acts of resistance 
to the authority of Great Britain. 

Section 2. — Applications for membership shall be made 
to any State Society, in duplicate, upon blank forms prescribed 
by the General Board of Managers, and shall in each case set 
forth the name, occupation and residence of the applicant, his 
line of descent, and the name, residence and services of his 
ancestor or ancestors in the Revolution, from whom he derives 
eligibility. The applicant shall make oath that the statements 
of his application are true, to the best of his knowledge and 
belief. Upon the approval of an application by the State 
Society, to whicJi it is made, one copy shall be transmitted to 
the Registrar General of the National Society, tvho shall 
examine fitrther the eligibility of the applicant. If satisfied 
that the member is eligible, he shall approve the application. 
In case he deems the proof insufficient, he shall report the fact 
to a Board of Review, composed of the Registrar General, 
Secretary General and Historian General, zvho may return 
the application for correction. The decision of this Board 
shall be fijial in all such cases. No election of a nezv member 
shall be valid, unless his eligibility shall be approved by the 
Registrar General or the -Board of Revieiv. 

[Section 2. — For the purpose of making more nearly 
perfect the records of our Revolutionary ancestors and 
their descendants, any woman of Revolutionary ancestry 
may file a record of her ancestor's services and of her line 
of descent with any Registrar, who shall send a duplicate 
to the Registrar Generah] 



Sectiox J. — A State Society may provide for life mem- 
berships by t/ie payment into its treasury of a sum, in comnm- 
tation of aiinnal dues, not less than fifty dollars. 

Section /j.. — Any [person] man shall be eligible to 
honorary membership, subject to the [limitations as to age 
and descent established] conditions of eligibility provided in 
the case of active members. 

[Section 4. — The National Society shall embrace all 
the members of the Societies of the SoNS OF THE AMER- 
ICAN Revolution now existing, or which may be estab- 
lished under this Constitution. Such Societies shall regulate 
all matters relating to their own affairs, shall judge of the 
qualifications of their members, and of those proposed 
for membership, subject to the provisions of this Con- 
stitution.] 

SecTIOA' 5- — The official designation of the members of the 
Society of the SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION shall 
be ''''Compatriots.'" 

ARTICLE IV. 

NATIONAL AND STATE SOCIETIES. 

Section j. — The N'atlonal Society shall embrace all the mem- 
bers of the State Societies of the SONS OF THE AMERICAN 
Re vol UTIOA', now existing or loliich may hereafter be established 
under this Constitution. 

Section 2. — Whenever in any State or Territory, in which 
a State Society does not exist, or in 7vhich a State Society has become 
inactive or failed for ttvo years to pay its annual dues to the A^ational 
Society, fifteen or fuore persons, duly qualified for membership in 
this Society, may associate themselves as a State Society of the SONS 
OF THE American Revolution, and organize in accordance 
with this Constitution, they may be admitted by the General Board 

of Managers to the National Society as " The 

Society of the SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION,'' and 
shall thereafter have exclusive local jurisdiction in the State or 
Territory or in the District in ivhich they are organized, subject to 
the provisions of this Constitution. 



Section J. — Each State Society shall judge of the qualifi- 
cations of its members and of those proposed for membership, subject 
to the provisions of this Constitution, and shall regulate all matters 
pertaining to its own affairs. It shall have authority to establish 
local chapters zuithin its own jurisdiction and to endow the chapters 
with such power as it may deem proper, not inconsistent with this 
Constitution. It shall have authority, after due notice and impartial 
trial, to expel any member, who, by conduct unbecoming a gentleman 
aitd a man of honor, shall render himself umvorthy to remain a 
member of the Society. 

Section 4. — Each State Society shall submit to the Annual 
Congress of the National Society a report, setting forth by name the 
additions, transfers, and deaths, and any other changes in the inejti- 
bership and progress of the State Society during the preceding year, 
and make such suggestions, as it shall deem proper, for the promo- 
tion of the objects of the whole order. 

Section j. — Whenever a meinber in good standing in his 
Society, changes his residence from the jurisdiction of the State 
Society of which he is a member, to that of another, he shall be 
entitled, if he so elects, to a certificate of honorable demission from 
his own State Society, in order that he may be transferred to the 
State Society to whose jurisdictio7i he has changed his residence, pro- 
vided, that his membership shall continue in the for)ner until he shall 
have been elected a member of the latter. Each State Society shall, 
however, retain full control of the admission of members by transfer. 

Section 6. — Wherever the word '■'■State" occurs in this 
Constitution, it shall be held to include within its meaning the 
District of Columbia and the Territories of the United States. 



' ARTICLE V. 
officers and managers. 

Section i. — The General Officers of the National 
Society shall be a President General, [three Honorary Vice 
Presidents General], five Vice Presidents General, a Secre- 
tary General, Treasurer General, Registrar General, Histor- 
ian General, [Surgeon General], and Chaplain General, who 
shall be elected by ballot by a vote of the majority of the 



members present at the annual meeting of the Congress of 
the National Society, and shall hold office for one year and 
until their successors shall be elected, [and who together 
with the Presidents of the State Societies, ex-officio, shall 
constitute a general Board of Managers, of which Board 
seven shall constitute a quorum,] 

Section 2. — The General Officers, together zvith the 
Presidents of the State Societies ex-officio, shall constitute 
the General Board of Managers of the National Society, 
which Board shall have autJiority to adopt and proninlgate the 
By-Laws of the National Society, to prescribe the duties of 
the General Officers, to provide the seal, to designate and make 
regidations for the issue of the insignia, and to transact the 
general business of the National Society during the intervals 
between the sessions of the Congress. Meetings of the Gcfieral 
Board may be held, after not less than ten days notice, at the 
call of the President General, or, in case of his absence or 
inability, at the call of the senior Vice President Gcfteral, 
certified by the Secretary General. Meetings shall be called 
at the request of seven members. At all such meetings, seven 
shall constitute a quorum. 

Section' J. — An Executive Committee of seven, of 
whom the President General shall be the Chairman, may be 
elected by the Board of Managers, which Committee shall, 
in the interim between the meetings of the Board, transact 
such business as shall be delegated to it by the Board of 
Managers. 

ARTICLE VL 

DUES. 

Each State Society shall pay annually to the Treasurer 
General to defray the expenses of the National Society [twenty- 
five] fifty cents for each active member thereof. All such 
dues shall be paid on or before [the opening of each annual 
meeting of the National Society, in order to secure repre- 

10 



sentation therein] the first day of April in each year, for the 
ensuing year, in order to secure representation in the Congress 
of the National Society. 



ARTICLE VII. 
MEETINGS AND ELECTIONS. 

Section i. — The annual [meeting] Congress of the 
National Society for the election of the General Officers and 
for the transaction of business, shall be held on the 30th 
day of April, or on the first day of May in every year. 
The [time] Junir and place of such meeting shall be desig- 
nated by the Board of Managers. 

Section 2. — Special meetings of the Congress [shall] 
may be called by the President General, and shall be called 
by him when directed so to do by the Board of Managers, 
or whenever requested in writing so to do by [twenty-five 
or more members representing] at least five State Socie- 
ties, on giving thirty days' notice specifying the time and 
place of such meeting and the business to be transacted. 

Section 3. — The following shall be members of all 
such [general] annual or special meetings of the Congress 
and shall be entitled to vote therein : 

(i). All the officers, and the ex-Presidents General [and 
the ex-Vice Presidents General] of the National Society ; 

(2). The President and Senior Vice President of each 
State Society. 

(3). One delegate at large from each State Society ; 

(4). One delegate for every one hundred members of 
the Society within a State and for a fraction of fifty or 
over. 

[The following named officials shall be Honorary Mem- 
bers of the National Society, provided they are eligible to 
membership in the Society, but shall not be entitled to 
vote : 



II 



(i). The President, the Vice-President, and the Chief 
Justice of the United States; 

(2). The President of the Senate, the Speaker of the 
House, the Secretary of War, and the Secretary of the 
Navy, of the United States; 

(3). The Governors of the States and Territories of the 
United States ; 

And also the Senior of^cer of the Army, and the 
Senior officer of the Navy of the United States.] 



[ARTICLE VII. 

[ey-laws. 

[The Board of Managers shall have authority to adopt 
and promulgate the By-Laws of the National Society, to 
prescribe the duties of the general officers, to provide the 
seal, and to designate the insignia.] 



ARTICLE VIII. 

AMENDMENTS. 

[Amendments to this Constitution may be offered at 
any meeting of the National Society, but shall not be acted 
on until the next meeting. A copy of every proposed 
amendment shall be sent to each member, with a notice of 
the meeting at which the same will be acted upon, at least 
thirty days prior to said meeting.] 

This Constitution may be altered or amended at any 
meeting of the Congress of the National Society y provided 
that thirty days notiee in writing of the proposed alterations 
or amendments shall be sent to the President of eaeh State 
Soeiety. A vote of two thirds of those present shall be 
necessary to its adoption. 

12 



PROPOSED AMENDMENTS. 



OFFERED AT THE PRO FORMA MEETING OF THE ANNUAL 

CONGRESS, HELD MAY i, 1893, 11 A. M., AT THE 

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT GENERAL, 15 

BROAD STREET, NEW YORK. 



[Mem.— The Articles and Sections referred to hereinbelow, are as 
numbered anew by the Committee on Revision in the revised draft of the 
Constitution, printed on the preceding pages of this document.] 

SUBMITTED BY THE OREGON-WASHINGTON 

SOCIETY. 

ARTICLE II. 

OBJECTS. 

The object of this Society is to perpetuate the memory 
of the men of the American Revolution; to honor the 
noble women of that period from whom we descend ; to re- 
vive the spirit of that time ; to carry out the purposes 
expressed in the Preamble of the Constitution of our Coun- 
try, and the Injunctions of Washington's Farewell Address; 
to encourage historical research in our War of Independence ; 
to collect records and relics of that time ; to oppose by 
moral means the spread of anarchial ideas and lawlessness ; 
to draw together in a firm and fraternal union the descend- 
ants of the Patriots of the Revolution, who are willing to 
cherish and maintain American Freedom and to see that 
" Our Government of the People, by the People, and for 
the People, shall not perish from the Earth." 

13 



ARTICLE III. 

Add the following: — 

" Section . — The official designation of the members 
of the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution 
shall be ' Compatriots.' " 

ARTICLE IV. 

NATIONAL AND STATE SOCIETIES. 

Section i. — The National Society shall embrace those 
members of the Societies of the Sons of the American 
Revolution, now existing or which may hereafter be estab- 
lished under this Constitution, whose applications have been 
approved by the General Committee. 

ARTICLE V. 

officers and managers. 

Add the following section : — 

"Section . — The Registrar General of the Society 
shall receive a compensation of $ ... . per annum to be 
paid quarterly out of the general fund of the Society." 



OFFERED BY HENRY HALL, THE HISTORIAN 
GENERAL. 

ARTICLE III. 
membership. 

Insert the following as Section 2, renumbering the remaining sections: — 

Section 2. — Applications for membership may be 
made to any State Society, and shall be made in duplicate 
upon blank forms, prescribed by the General Board of 
Managers, and shall in each case set forth the name, occu- 
pation and residence of the applicant, his line of descent, 

14 



and the name, residence and services of his ancestor or 
ancestors in the Revolution, from whom he derives ehgibil- 
ity. The applicant shall make oath that the statements 
set forth in his application are true, to the best of his 
knowledge and belief. Upon the approval of an applica- 
tion by the State Society, to which it is made, one copy 
of the application shall be transmitted to the Registrar 
General of the National Society, who may examine further 
the eligibility of the applicant, and, in case of insuflfiicient 
proof, report the fact to the General Board of Managers, 
who shall have power to order the return of the application 
for correction. Each State Society may also provide for 
life memberships by the payment into its treasury of a 
sum, in commutation of annual dues, of not less than 
fifty dollars. 

ARTICLE IV. 

NATIONAL AND STATE SOCIETIES. 

Insert in Section 2, second line, after words "does not exist," the fol- 
lowing : 

"Or, in which an existing State Society has become 
inactive, or failed for one year to pay its annual dues to 
the National Society." 

And at the end of same section add : 

" Subject to the provisions of this Constitution." 

In Section 3, after " Chapters within its own jurisdiction," add the words: 
" And to endow such chapters with power to pass upon 

the question of the acceptability of applicants, living within 

their respective jurisdictions." 

In Section 4, change the word " membership" to read, 

"accessions, deaths and dismissals, by name." 



15 



ARTICLE V. 



OFFICERS AND MANAGERS. 



Insert the following at end of Section 2, in place of "of which Board seven 
shall constitute a quorum." 

" Of the National Society, which Board shall have 
authority to adopt and promulgate the By-Laws of the 
National Society, to prescribe the duties of the General 
Officers, to provide the seal, to designate and make regula- 
tions for the issue of the insignia, and to transact the general 
business of the National Society during the intervals between 
the sessions of the Congress. Meetings of the General 
Board may be held, after not less than ten days' notice, at 
the call of the President General, or in case of his death, 
absence or inability at the call of the acting Senior Vice 
President General. Meetings shall be called in the manner 
above provided, at the written request of seven members of 
the Board, and, at all such meetings, seven shall constitute 
a quorum." 



ARTICLE VII (present Constitution). 

Take out entirely, because covered in amendment above. 



OFFERED BY THE MISSOURI SOCIETY. 

ARTICLE III. 

MEMBERSHir. 

In Section i, change the age of applicants for member- 
ship from "21 " to " 1 8." 



i6 



OFFERED BY GEORGE NORBURY MAC- 
KENZIE OF MARYLAND. 

" I would suggest an amendment to the Constitution, 
taken from that of the Cincinnati, to this effect : That 
the expenses of the delegates to the National Convention 
shall be borne by the respective State Societies. Some 
of our most useful men have declined to attend the 
National Conventions from the fact that they could not 
afford to lose the time and at the same time pay their 
expenses from their private funds." 



PRESENTED AT THE REQUEST OF DR. 
THOMAS P. GRANT OF KENTUCKY. 

ARTICLE I. 

NAME. 
Change "shall be" to "is." 

ARTICLE II. 

OBJECTS. 
Change " shall be" in first line to "are." 

ARTICLE III. 

MEMBERSHIP. 
In Section i, after the words "in good repute in the community," insert: 

" Who may be acceptable to the State Society in whose 
jurisdiction he resides provided he is," etc. 

At end of same Section, add : 

"As would render him liable to imprisonment by the 
English Government for treason." 

17 



Add the following to this article : 

Section 4. No applicant for membership shall be elected 
by a State Society until his application has been accepted 
by the Board of Review, who shall pass upon the data sub- 
mitted as a claim for membership, if, which is insufificient, 
the applicant shall be notified and allowed six months to 
perfect his claim. 

ARTICLE IV. 
NATIONAL AND STATE SOCIETIES. 
In Section 3, the sentence on local chapters to be changed to read : 

It shall establish local chapters within its own jurisdic- 
tion in every county, in which there are seven or more 
members, and where a local chapter is established, no person 
residing in that county shall be elected a member of the 
State Society except on the recommendation of the local 
Chapter. 

In Section 4, after the words "setting forth," third line, insert : 

" By name the additions, dismissals and deaths, and any 
other changes." 

In Section 5, fourth line, after "be entitled," insert the words, "if he so 
elects." Change word "demission" to "demit." 

And in seventh line, after word " residence," insert : 

" Provided his membership shall lie in his old Society 

until he shall have been elected a member of the Society 

into whose jurisdiction he may have moved." 

Insert as a new Section 6 the following : 

"Section 6. — No State Society shall withdraw from 
the National Society so long as fifteen members thereof 
desire to continue as members of the National Society." 

ARTICLE V. 

OFFICERS AND MANAGERS. 
To Section 2 add the words : 

" For the transaction of the ordinary business of the 
Society. Provided that no change of policy shall be 

18 



made without the consent of a majority of all the mem- 
bers of the Board, either in person or by proxy." 

Amend Section 3 by striking out the words "from its own members." 
Add the following : — 

Section 4, — A Board of Review, consisting of the 
Registrar General, the Secretary General and the Historian 
General, shall pass upon all data submitted by applicants 
for membership. They shall also discharge any other 
duties which may be assigned to them by the Society 
or General Board of Managers. 



OFFERED BY CHARLES W. HASKINS, THE 
TREASURER GENERAL. 

ARTICLE VI. 

DUES. 
Change the words " twenty-five cents " to " fifty cents." 

ARTICLE VII. 
MEETINGS AND ELECTIONS. 

In Section 3, 4th and 5th lines, strike out the words, 
" and the ex- Vice Presidents General." 



OFFERED BY EDWARD H. HALL OF NEW 

YORK. 

ARTICLE III. 

MEMBERSHIP. 

Strike out Section 2 entirely. 

In Section 3, first line, change the word "person" to 
* man." 

19 



OFFERED BY THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 
SOCIETY. 

ARTICLE II. 

OBJECTS. 
Change the first line to read : 

" The objects of this Society are to promote," etc. 

In the fourth Hue, change "achieved the independ- 
ence" to "secure the hberty." 

Insert in fourteenth line, after "American freedom :" 

"To foster true patriotism and love of country, and to 
aid in securing for mankind all the blessings of liberty." 

ARTICLE III. 

MEMBERSHIP. 

Change first four lines to read : 

"Section i. — Any man shall be eligible to membership 
in this Society, who, being of the age of 2 i years or over, 
acceptable to the State Society, and a citizen of good 
repute in the community, is the lineal descendant of an 
ancestor of devoted and unfailing patriotism, who," etc. 



Strike out Sections 2 and 3. 



ARTICLE IV. 



Add to Section i the following : 

"And shall be the exclusive judge of the qualifications 
of membership in the Society, subject to the provisions of 
this Constitution." 

In Section 2, second line, after the words "does not exist," add : 

" Or has become inactive or failed to pay its dues for 

one year to the National Society." 

To the end of Section 2 add, "as herein defined." 

20 



Section 3, change the first four Hnes, to read : 

"Section 3. — Each State Society shall regulate all 
matters pertaining to its own affairs, subject to the pro- 
visions of this Constitution." 

Strike out, "and a man of honor," 

Section 4, change the first four Hnes, to read : 

"Each State Society, on or before April 15th of each 
year, shall submit to the Annual Congress of the National 
Society a report, setting forth the accessions, deaths and 
demissions, by name, and the progress of the State So- 
ciety." 

Section 5, add the following, at end : 

"But no State Society shall admit a new member for 
an initiation fee less than five dollars, nor admit a new life 
member for less than fifty dollars. 

ARTICLE V. 

Add tlie following as Section 3. 

Section 3. — The Board of Managers shall have author- 
ity to adopt and promulgate the By-Laws of the National 
Society and, in general, to manage the affairs of the National 
Society in the interim between the meetings of the annual 
Congress, and all action of the Board of Managers shall be 
legal and binding, unless disapproved by the next annual 
Congress. 

Renumber Section 3 of the Committee's draft, and add at the end thereof the 
following : 

All applications for membership in the National Society 
shall be referred to the Registrar General for approval as to 
eligibility before the applicant can receive his certificate of 
membership and insignia. 



21 



ARTICLE VI. 
Change the words "twenty-five cents" to "fifty cents." 

ARTICLE VII. 

Section i, change the last three lines to read : 

— day of April in every year, unless the same shall fall 
on Sunday, in which event the meeting shall be held on the 
following Tuesday. The time and place of such meeting 
shall be designated by the Board of Managers or the Con- 
gress of the National Society. 

Section 3, sub-heading i, change the words " ex- Vice- 
Presidents General" to "retiring Vice-Presidents General." 

Add to Section 3 the following : 

5. — The delegates chosen to represent said Society in 
the annual Congress shall represent said Society in all 
special meetings until their successors are duly chosen. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

Strike out because transferred with additions to Article V. 



22 



OFFERED BY THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 

SOCIETY. 

The District of Columbia Society also present the following draft of the 
Constitution as a substitute for the amendments above, and as a basis for con- 
sideration and amendment. 



CONSTITUTION 

OF THE 

GENERAL SOCIETY OF THE 
SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 



PREAiVIBLE. 



Whereas, as descendants of those Patriots who by many 
personal sacrifices and with untiring devotion to the cause 
which united them were enabled to secure their indepen- 
dence from the government of Great Britain, and who thus 
founded this Republic in which by the good providence of 
God we have been permitted to enjoy a free government, 
we do hereby associate ourselves in grateful remembrance 
of the triumphs of our ancestors and unite to ordain and 
establish a permanent association for the purposes and 
objects as hereinafter set forth ; to this end we pledge 
ourselves to be governed by the following Constitution and 
By-Laws. 

23 



ARTICLE I. 

TITLE. 

This Association shall be known as the General Society 
of the Sons of the American Revolution. 



ARTICLE 11. 

OBJECTS. 

The objects of the Society are, to perpetuate the 
memory of the men who achieved the Independence of the 
American people by means of the War of the Revolution ; 
to impress upon the present and future generations the 
patriotic spirit which actuated our ancestors in establishing 
the Republic of the United States ; to inspire a more pro- 
found reverence for the principles of the free government 
founded by our forefathers at a sacrifice of life and pro- 
perty, by uniting in fellowship the descendants of those 
men, and in the celebration of the anniversaries of prominent 
events connected with the War of the American Revolution 
and in the acquisition and preservation of, and the marking 
by appropriate monuments, its historic places ; in the col- 
lection and preservation of private documents, relics, and 
individual records of service relating to the War of the 
American Revolution, and to aid in thus developing an 
enlightened public opinion and affording to young and old 
such advantages as shall develop in them the largest capacity 
for performing the duties of American citizens ; to cherish, 
maintain and extend the institutions of American freedom, 
to foster true patriotism and love of Country, and to aid in 
securing for mankind all the blessings of liberty. 

24 



ARTICLE III. 

ORGANIZATION. 

The governing and legislative body of this Society shall 
be known as the Continental Congress of the Sons of the 
American Revolution, with power of self government, to 
make laws for the government of the General Society, to 
elect officers, defining and prescribing their powers and 
duties This Congress shall be the body to which final 
appeals shall be made as it may direct or permit and shall 
have general control and supervision of the society in all its 
branches. 

For convenience of administration and for the develop- 
ment of the social and patriotic features of the Society, 
State Societies with subordinate Chapters are established 
with such powers and duties as may be prescribed from 
time to time by the Continental Congress. 



ARTICLE IV. 

MEMBERSHIP. 

Any man shall be eligible for membership in the General 
Society, who being of the age of twenty-one years or over, 
and a citizen of good repute in the community in which he 
resides, is a lineal descendant of an ancestor who with 
unfailing patriotism rendered material aid, or personal ser- 
vice, in the cause of the American Independence either as a 
signer of the Declaration of Independence or of the Articles 
of Confederation ; or as a Member of a Committee of 
Safety or Correspondence ; or as a Member of the Congress 
of the United Colonies or of a State Legislature ; or as a 
Civilian Officer of the Confederated Government, or of one 
of the States ; or as an Officer of the Army, including 
Regulars, Volunteers, Militia or Minute men, of the Con- 
tinental Line or of one of the States ; or as an officer on 
board a duly recognized gunboat, privateer, or letter-of- 

25 



marque and reprisal, of the Confederated Government or of 
a State ; or as an enlisted or enrolled man, or as a volunteer, 
in either the said military or naval service, as hereinbefore 
described. 

ARTICLE V. 

ADMISSION. 

Every application for membership must be endorsed by 
two members of the General Society, and be approved by 
a State Society upon the question of acceptability, and shall 
then be submitted to the Registrar-General, who shall report 
upon the question of eligibility to the General Board of 
Management, when the question of admission shall be voted 
upon by ballot, and if a majority of said Board approve 
such application, the applicant, after payment of the initia- 
tion fee, shall be enrolled as a member of the General 
Society, provided, that a letter of endorsement from one of 
the recommending members attested by the Secretary of a 
State Society shall accompany such application paper, and 
said applicant's name, together with those of his recom- 
menders shall be published in official circular at least thirty 
days before action shall be taken by the said Board, pro- 
vided further, that all who have been duly elected as Sons 
of the American Revolution prior to the date of the adop- 
tion of this Constitution shall be held and deemed to be 
Charter members of the General Society, and shall be so 
enrolled in the official records. 



ARTICLE VI. 

OFFICERS. 

The Officers of the General Society shall be a President- 
General, five Vice Presidents-General, a Secretary and an 
Assistant Secretary-General, a Treasurer- General, a Regist- 
rar-General, a Historian-General and a Chaplain-General, 
who shall be elected by ballot by a majority vote of the 

26 



members present at the annual meeting of the Continental 
Congress, and shall hold office for one year from the date 
of said election or until their successors are duly elected and 
have qualified for office by formal acceptance of the same. 

Section 2. — The said General Officers together with 
the Presidents of State Societies shall constitute a General 
Board of Management, of which Board seven shall consti- 
tute a quorum, and the President-General, ex-officio, shall 
be chairman of said Board. 

Section 3. — The said Board of General Management 
shall approve all applications for membership in the General 
Society, and during the interim between the closing of the 
session of one Continental Congress and the assembling of 
the next succeeding one, shall have full power to manage 
the business of the General Society, in accordance with 
such by-laws or regulations as may have been enacted by a 
Continental Congress ; to fill vacancies in offices of the 
General Society until the next meeting of the Continental 
Congress, and in general to do all things necessary for the 
success of the General Society, subject, however, to the 
approval of the Continental Congress ; but all acts of the 
Board within the scope of their delegated authority shall be 
legal and binding until disapproved by the said Congress. 

Section 4. — A General Executive Committee of five 
members, of which the President-General shall be Chairman, 
ex-officio, but not entitled to a vote in its meetings except- 
ing in case of a tie vote, shall be elected by the General 
Board of Management from its members, and shall, in the 
interim between the meeting of the General Board of 
Management transact such business as may be delegated to 
it by the said Board and shall thus have and exercise the 
powers of the said Board under its direction. 



27 



ARTICLE VII. 

CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 

The Continental Congress of the Sons of the American 
Revolution shall be composed of the Officers of the General 
Society ; the President and senior Vice President of each 
State Society; two delegates at large from each State 
Society ; one delegate from each subordinate Chapter of a 
State Society having a membership of fifty, and one addi- 
tional delegate therefrom for every one hundred members 
and for a portion of fifty or over, and all Ex- Presidents- 
General of the General Society who have served in said 
office for one full term. 



ARTICLE VIII. 

MEETINGS. 

The annual meeting of the Continental Congress shall 
be held in the City of Washington, District of Columbia, 
on the 2 2d day of February, or in the event that said day 
come on Sunday, then the said meeting shall be held upon 
the following Tuesday ; at this meeting the report of the 
General Board of Management shall be considered ; election 
of officers shall be held and such business transacted as the 
good of the Society may require. 

Section 2. — The annual meeting of the State Societies 
shall take place upon the day appointed therefor in their 
respective by-laws, which shall in each instance follow the 
date of the annual meeting of the General Society ; special 
meetings for State Societies as well as provision for annual 
or special meetings of subordinate Chapters shall be wholly 
within the jurisdiction and approval of the State Societies. 

Section 3. — The General Board of Management shall 
meet at least once every four months and at such other 
times as the exigencies of the Society may demand on call 

28 



of the President-General, and seven members shall consti- 
tute a quorum for the transaction of business. 

The President-General shall call meetings of the General 
Board of Management upon the written request of any 
seven members thereof, provided that the object of said 
special meeting is specifically stated and that not less than 
five days notice of the time and place of such meeting shall 
be given and the reason therefor. 



ARTICLE IX. 

STATE SOCIETIES AND THEIR SUBORDINATE CHAPTERS. 

The State Societies shall regulate all matters respecting 
their own affairs and those of their subordinate Chapters in 
accordance with this Constitution and such by-laws or regu- 
lations as may be adopted from time to time by the 
Continental Congress, and may expel any member who by 
conduct unbecoming a gentleman, or who by the opposition 
to the declared objects and interests of the Society in 
general may render himself unworthy to continue in 
membership. 

Section 2. — Whenever in any State in which a State 
Society does not exist, fifteen or more persons, duly quali- 
fied for membership in this Society, shall associate themselves 
as a State Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, 
and shall organize in accordance with this Constitution, they 
may be admitted by the General Board of Management to 
the General Society and shall thereafter have exclusive local 
jurisdiction in the State in which they are organized, sub- 
ject to the limitations imposed by this Constitution. 

Section 3. The Secretary of a State Society shall 

transmit to the Secretary-General such reports as may be 
essential for historical or statistical purposes of the General 
Society. 

29 



Section 4. — Whenever a member of the General Society 
who has affihated with a State Society or one of its subor- 
dinate Chapters, changes his residence from the jurisdiction 
of a State Society of which he is a member, to that of 
another State Societ}-, lie shall be entitled to a certificate of 
honorable transfer from his own State Society to that in 
whose jurisdiction he has changed his residence. Provided, 
that each State Society shall retain full control as to the 
admission of members by transfer. 

Section 5. — When ten members of the General Society 
are living in one locality in which there has not been estab- 
lished a Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, 
upon petition of the same to their State Society, they shall 
be accorded full authority by the said State Society to 
organize a Chapter and to enact by-laws for their own 
government which shall be in harmony with the Constitu- 
tion and By-Laws of the General Society, and of the State 
Society under whose immediate authority the said Chapter 
shall exist. 



ARTICLE X. 

INITIATION, DUES AND LIABILITIES. 

Each application for membership in the General Society 
of the Sons of the American Revolution, filed subsequent 
to the adoption of this Constitution, shall be accompanied 
with the sum of five dollars as the initiation fee ; all members 
of the Sons of the American Revolution prior to the date of 
adoption of this Constitution shall not be required to pay 
any additional initiation fee, but shall be held to be Charter 
members as hereinbefore provided. 

Section 2. — Each State Society shall pay to the 
Treasurer-General of the General Society on or before the 
opening of the annual session of the Continental Congress 
the sum of fifty cents, as a per capita tax upon its member- 

30 



ship who are in good standing upon the first day of February 
in each and every year, in order that representation in said 
Continental Congress be secured and said right be claimed. 

Section 3. — The payment at one time of fifty dollars 
shall constitute a life membership and cause an exemption 
of the further payment of dues. 

Section 4. — All initiation fees payable or life member- 
ship payments which shall be made subsequent to the 
adoption of this Constitution, shall be divided equally 
between the General Society and the State Society which is 
directly interested in the proposed membership. 

Section 5. — All members of the General Society, who, 
subsequent to the adoption of this Constitution fail to affili- 
ate with a State Society, and in writing so inform the 
Secretary-General of the General Society shall, thereafter, 
on or before the 22nd day of February in each and every 
year pay to the Treasurer General of the General Society 
the sum of ten dollars as dues. 

Section 6. — A member who shall remain in arrears for 
dues for a period of three months, whether in the General 
Society, a State Society or a subordinate Chapter, after 
notice for the payment of the same has been sent, shall be 
dropped from the rolls, provided, however, that final action 
shall not be taken until after two notices of arrears shall 
have been given and a hearing has been granted. 

Section 7. — The expenses of the General Society, in- 
cluding the expenses of the Continental Congress shall be 
borne by the General Society by assessment pro rata upon 
its membership, not to exceed, however, fifty cents per 
member. 

Section 8. — No debt shall be incurred or a liability 
assumed excepting for the current ordinary expenses of the 
General Society, nor shall any project or plan requiring the 



expenditure of money be entered into by which the General 
Society shall be held responsible, except by a three-fourths 
vote of the Board of Management. 



ARTICLE XI. 

DIPLOMA OF MEMBERSHIP. 

Every Diploma of Membership in the General Society 
shall be engrossed upon parchment and be signed by the 
President-General and Registrar-General and have the 
impress of the seal of the General Society thereto affixed. 
The President and Secretary of the State Society shall 
countersign the said Diploma of Membership and affix the 
impress of the seal of their Society in attestation of their 
signatures. 



ARTICLE XII. 

ALTERNATE DELEGATES. 

Each State Society and their subordinate Chapters shall, 
at least 30 days prior to the 22nd day of February, in each 
and every year, elect an alternate delegate for each delegate 
by whom they are entitled to be represented in the next 
ensuing session of the Continental Congress, which said 
election shall immediately be officially communicated to the 
Secretary-General of the General Society, and said alternate 
delegates upon the filing of their credentials prior to the 
opening session of the Continental Congress to which they 
have been so elected, shall have their names entered upon 
the roll of said Congress by the Secretary General and be 
thereupon accorded the full privileges of the floor when said 
Congress is in session ; provided, however, that said alter- 
nate delegates shall not be entitled to a vote upon any 
question, excepting in the event of the absence of the dele- 

32 



gate, to whose place as an alternate he may succeed, shall 
have been announced at the first roll call of a daily session 
of the Congress. 

Section 2. — The senior member of a State delegation 
shall be determined by his rank of office in his State So- 
ciety, and the seniority of alternates by their order in 
election. 

ARTICLE XIII. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Whenver the word " State" occurs in this Constitution, 
it shall be held to include within its meaning the District of 
Columbia and the Territories of the United States. 



ARTICLE XIV. 

COAT-OF-ARMS. 

ARTICLE XV. 

SEAL. 

ARTICLE XVI. 

INSIGNIA. 

ARTICLE XVII. 

AMENDMENTS. 

This Constitution may be altered or amended at any 
meeting of the Continental Congress, provided that thirty 
days prior thereto the amendments in question have been 

33 



duly considered by the General Board of Management at a 
second meeting following the one upon which the same 
were first presented for their initial consideration, and pro- 
vided further, that a copy of the said amendments had 
been sent to each member of the Continental Congress, at 
least thirty days prior to the date of the meeting of said 
Congress, and a vote of two-thirds of the members present 
at the meeting of said Congress, shall be necessary for the 
adoption of any amendments to the Constitution. 




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